Kiteboarding

Oftentimes when I ride with Danny, he yells to me out on the water, “DO SOMETHING AWESOME!” and he’ll trail me until I show him something. It pushes me. It’s fun. And, it always results in me having a better session in the end.

This was a beautiful week of wind and sunshine in El Medano, Tenerife. We’ve had five days of action in which to pick the best four male and best two female riders who got into the finals today. The competition started with 25 knots side shore winds and nice waves rolling into the bay.

It has been a long day of action here in Tenerife, with the wind quickly picking up to 25-30 knots for the fourth day of Kite Master’s action. Head Judge Sami Gali was impressed by the amount of high jumps, which resulted from the conditions, “Height and power are the most important factors in this competition and we saw some great displays of both today.”

Today another 16 heats of the Tenerife Kite Masters 2011 were disputed here in El Medano. According to Race Director Olaf Van Tol the riders are now getting used to the conditions, “This afternoon we began to see some higher board offs as the riders used the nice kickers which line the spot.”

The stronger the wind got, the higher the kitesurfers jumped. The high jumps allowed the riders to perform great boards off. They also executed handle passes which are considered as the most technical tricks, and are also referred to as wakeboard tricks.

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Essentially kitesurfing is like whipping yourself into a wave like a jetski would a tow surfer. You ride the wave the same way you would surfing it and you use the same boards. This video shows you 5 reason's why you should give it a go if you're a surfer.

The last day of competition welcomed the competitors with the most extreme conditions a kiteboarder can expect in Fuerteventura: 35 to 45 knots in the ongoing gusts and choppy waters. As usual on the PKRA we were again surprised by the level the riders can reach in these conditions.

It was like a switch flipped when she arrived. The wind picked up A LOT. Tami brought her 9, and I ran back to get my 7 from my car. I was still a little nervous to launch so close to land, so Tami said she didn’t mind walking out a little ways. There were a lot of people at Jockey's Ridge that day, so we were the only ones kiting.

After two days of competition here in Fuerteventura for the PKRA Kiteboarding World Tour, we entered the second part of the single eliminations. This was going to be the most exciting day with only the very best riders left to compete in the strong winds of Sotavento. The men’s division started with the quarter finals in 30 knots conditions which according to Brazilian rider Reno Romeu (BRA, North) made the spot a little choppy with a kicker on the inside.